“Culture hides more than it reveals, and strangely enough, what it hides, it hides most effectively from its own participants.” — Edward T. Hall
The characteristics and knowledge of a specific group of people are what define culture.
In the cannabis community, we apply these beliefs, values, customs, and traditions to establish societal norms. These behaviors are learned directly through socialization, so participation is a key part of culture, either through partaking or sharing. And many of those aspects often overlap.
I know a few people working in the legal sector who make hash in their free time. I’ve seen a farmer with a glass-blowing hobby. One of my passions is music; anyone who has hung out with me has probably discovered a new band or genre. We all have respect for the plant and maybe a few other things in common. Learning, sharing, and discovering, it all happen organically in these circles. You don’t necessarily have to consume it to support it.
It’s important to remember your individual “why.” Think about your catalyst into this space, your reason for integrating yourself into the cannabis culture. We’ve all had to sacrifice and suffer. Are you helping or hindering those following in your footsteps? Are you opening doors or pulling up the ladder?
Trust me, I get it, we all have to balance that self-advocacy and grace. Allow me to plant the seed of introspection in your mind…
Who Contributes to Cannabis Culture?
Everyone reading this article right now contributes to cannabis culture, and each of us has a role. Yes, even you! However, that value is almost always determined by the recipient, whether that’s the customer, patient, or audience. This community is really good at recognizing what’s genuine, and we know bullshit when we see it. In recent years, we’ve had to recalibrate our BS detectors due to various forms of legalization and public acceptance.
With every passing month, it seems like there’s a new trade show, festival, or competition. Big events can be a mixed bag for the community, because they provide an opportunity to discover new people and ideas, but they reward those brands with the deepest pockets.
Commerce often intersects with culture. Most people generally accept this as just doing business and part of the industry, but lines can get blurred when corporate executives are promoted as experts or industry leaders, especially when they don’t touch the plant.
Some executives have almost achieved uniformity, with their button-up shirt (sans tie), blazer, and tennis shoes. Perhaps they throw on a watch they don’t normally wear or colorful socks to be edgy. Apparently, if your CEO wears new Jordans on a speaking panel, it provides +5 to street cred. These are important precautions when your vocabulary is full of corporate jargon. From an outside view, it can seem performative, even disingenuous, often more like taking than actually partaking.
Here’s the thing: those performance efforts occasionally work. Sponsorships can develop into meaningful relationships. Keep in mind the majority of that circle is other corporate personalities, and they’re not all Chads and Karens. They show up. They actively socialize. Some of their beliefs and values align with others outside of that business space, hence, it still counts as cannabis culture. It’s a colorful tapestry when you really look at the whole community.
How Has Cannabis Culture Changed?
Shifts in any culture are inevitable due to technological advances and dynamic human nature. Simply put, things change because we do. We learn, we grow, and if we’re lucky, we get to evolve.
Back in the day, the illegality of weed pushed growers indoors and underground. Our classification system was essentially limited to Sativa and Indica. The only sort of quality indicators, for lack of a better term, were brick weed, hydro, and Kind Bud. Lab testing wasn’t quite a thing yet.
We had to operate within a black or grey market. Some of us still do. Most of us probably did the best we could with limited knowledge and resources. We’ve come a long way, but there will always be that stoner who forgets their piece and ends up making a pipe from an apple!
It’s me. I’m that stoner.
In one of my many teenage, smooth-brain moments, I tried smoking a joint rolled with a dollar bill. Yes, as the rolling paper. Hey man, you weren’t even there! It was late at night, and between my friends Peter, JP, and me, that dollar was quite literally the only thing we could come up with. It tasted like ink, but we got really stoned, and then we cruised on our skateboards all night. My smoking apparatuses have improved since then, but I still ride a longboard, though.
Today, there are countless options at dispensaries and head shops all across the country for concentrates and flower. You can even get both forms in a single preroll if you want. We have choices based on terpenes, flavor profiles, and dedicated effects. Infused edibles have evolved to embrace vegan gummies and luxury chocolate truffles. Maybe you want to get fancy and upgrade a top-shelf drink or microdose a canned cocktail at brunch. And this is only some of the recreational stuff.
The biggest change I see is how widely cannabis is accepted in public. Sparking a joint doesn’t draw stares like it used to. We’re more conscious about the plant-growing practices and health benefits overall. I notice more and more people starting to take issue with cigarette smoke and alcohol at events. When elderly people from the Reefer Madness generation are starting to discover the benefits of cannabis, the culture shift is tangible.
Higher education is evolving, too. There are university-level courses up to the graduate level in dozens of schools across the country. I’m talking about the accredited kind, which means scholarships and grants. You can even become a bona fide expert in assessing quality. The Ganjier is the industry’s first certified cannabis sommelier program. Crazy, right? It’s even more awesome than it sounds!
What Does the Future Hold for Us?
That will be up to us. It depends on our works and ultimately what we leave behind.
Really, that’s more about what we’re doing in the present. There is no future, only a perpetual now. It’s cool, take another hit and read that last sentence again. I’m saying don’t put shit off until later. What are we doing to progress right now: establishing a dynasty, preserving a legacy, or some other secret third option?
I have a penchant for quality. In my lane, I’d like to see complete transparency from products. “Trust me, bro” is a flimsy standard, at best. For anything processed or manufactured, a total list of ingredients with lab reports for each stage would be ideal. I trust and verify. It’s not about having all the answers; it’s about knowing where to find them. But I also want to know my farmers. The effects are just better when you know the hands and heart that grew the plant you’re consuming.
No matter what area we operate in, I believe it’s important to honor the roots of the cannabis community. Expertise in any field requires a little history. We stand on the shoulders of giants. All of the wisdom we have today was learned through generations of pioneers and outlaws. We’ve lost a lot more than we gained, but thankfully, some of it is being rediscovered. I’m constantly amazed by the number of people working in this industry who have never heard of the Emerald Triangle. History doesn’t necessarily repeat itself, but it sure rhymes.
They say no raindrop feels responsible for the flood. Commentary on the lack of culture is a false approach, because it’s from the wrong perspective. It’s asking the wrong questions. We have to look inward. The culture didn’t go anywhere, and it isn’t dying. You see, we are and always have been the cannabis culture. It’s already here. It’s us.
Please act accordingly.
